139 Naxalite cadres surrendered in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, marking a significant turning point in the fight against Left Wing Extremism. The surrenders included a top Maoist strategist and were hailed as a sign of the movement's decline.
A long-billed vulture, J132, released in Maharashtra's Pench Tiger Reserve, has travelled nearly 750 km in 17 days, reaching close to Anjaneri hills near Trimbakeshwar in Nashik district. The vulture's journey is part of a conservation program by the state forest department and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).
A remote village in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, once a Naxal hotbed, now has access to state-run bus service for the first time since independence.
'We have given riot-free Maharashtra in our 18-month rule.'
The Maharashtra government on Wednesday announced partnership with billionaire Elon Musk's satellite communications venture in India to deploy a host of satellite-based internet services, becoming the first Indian state to formally tie-up with the US firm. The government signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Starlink Satellite Communications Pvt Ltd.
Milind Ramji Narote, a BJP MLA from Maharashtra's Gadchiroli, had filed a complaint against Tejashwi Yadav on Friday.
Maharashtra recorded a voter turnout of 58.22 per cent till 5 pm on Wednesday in the elections to the 288-member state legislative assembly, with Gadchiroli district logging more than 69 per cent voting, poll officials said.
Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma met surrendered Naxalites at a rehabilitation center in Sukma, offering them a visit to the state assembly and directing officials to improve their living conditions and opportunities.
'When a grassroots worker has laboured day and night for the organisation, does the party not have a responsibility to recognise and uplift such workers?'
'From every point of view, they have faced an extremely difficult couple of years, and the setback they have suffered is irreversible.' 'This reality has begun to set in even amongst the top-level cadres. That is why, in recent times, we have witnessed a huge number of senior-level cadres emerging from the jungle and deciding to renounce violence and join the mainstream.'
After recent high-intensity operations in the Bastar region and the neutralisation of several senior Maoist leaders, officials say the insurgency has lost its ability to mount large-scale coordinated attacks.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis assures impartial action in the Pune land deal case involving a company linked to Deputy CM Ajit Pawar's son, Parth Pawar.
The Ministry of Home Affairs reports a significant reduction in the number of districts most affected by Naxalism, highlighting the government's efforts to combat Left Wing Extremism.
Heavy rains in Maharashtra have caused floods, road blockages, and widespread damage, resulting in casualties and displacement. The state government is monitoring the situation and coordinating rescue efforts.
Two senior leaders of the banned CPI (Maoist), including a Central Committee Member underground for over four decades, surrendered to Telangana police, citing health issues, pressure from security forces, and ideological differences.
As per the primary probe, one of the deceased was identified as Bitlu Madavi, a commander of Perimili Dalam, while two others were identified as Vasu of Perimili Dalam and Srikant of Aheri Dalam.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced that North Bastar and Abujhmad regions are now free of Naxal violence, with the fight against Naxalism in South Bastar reaching a decisive phase. He attributes this success to trust-building measures and the surrender of Naxal cadres.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, in a rare instance since the undivided Shiv Sena's fall out with the BJP in 2019, praised Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday for his efforts to turn Naxal-hit Gadchiroli district into a steel city.
Vimala Chandra Sidam alias Tarakka, a top Naxal leader with a Rs 25 lakh reward on her head, surrendered before Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Gadchiroli along with ten other senior Maoists. Tarakka, who joined the Naxal movement in 1986, rose through the ranks over 38 years to become a Dandkaranya Special Zonal Committee member. She is the wife of Central Committee Member Sonu alias Bhupati. The surrendered Naxals, eight women and three men, were collectively carrying a bounty of Rs 1.03 crore. Fadnavis also felicitated C 60 personnel for the July 17, 2024 encounter wherein 12 hardcore Maoists were killed in a forested area bordering Chhattisgarh.
As many as 22 teams of C-60 commandos and two squads of the Central Reserve Police Force under the supervision of senior officials launched an anti-Naxal operation from two different points in the forest area, said the release.
The skirmish took place around 5.30 am in the forest at Kotmi in Etapalli, where the Naxals had gathered for a meeting, said Sandeep Patil, Deputy Inspector General of Gadchiroli.
Seventeen villages nestled among nearly inaccessible mountains and dense forests in Naxal-hit Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district of Chhattisgarh have got electricity from the supply grid for the first time, officials said on Friday.
'In my 26 years at Raj Bhavan, working with more than ten governors, I can tell you C P Radhakrishnan Sir stands out.'
The Maharashtra legislative assembly passed the 'Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill' aimed at preventing unlawful activities of Left Wing Extremist organizations, focusing on urban Naxalism and passive militancy.
Maharashtra Director General of Police Subodh Kumar Jaiswal said that the attack was not a result of intelligence failure.
When the fierce encounter ended around 3:30 PM on Saturday after almost 10 hours, senior cadre Milind Teltumbade and 25 ultras had been killed.
One of the slain Maoists was identified as DVCM Laxman Atram alias Vishal Atram, incharge of Tipagad Dalam.
About 60 naxalites had camped at Kasampalli in south Gadchiroli when two groups of C-60 commmando units of police reached there Wednesday and launched an offensive.
A team of C-60 commandos, a specialised combat unit of the Gadchiroli police, carried out the operation.
The gunbattle took place in the morning at Korchi in Mardintola forest area when a C-60 police commando team was conducting a search operation led by additional SP Soumya Munde, Goyal said.
Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday said whatever the people of Maharashtra wish will happen, comments coming amid intense speculation over possibility of an alliance between his party and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by his estranged cousin Raj.
Due to the success of the operation, the entire Korchi-Tipagad and Chatgaon-Kasansur Dalams of Maoists have been wiped out, they claimed.
He had promised his daughter that he would be there, come what may, a kin said. But fate had a different plan.
Pankaja Munde of the BJP -- Dhananjay Munde's cousin -- has been made the guardian minister of Jalna district.
Top Maoist leader Milind Teltumbde was among the 26 Maoists killed in an encounter with police in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, a senior police official said on Sunday.
A deputy sarpanch was stabbed to death allegedly by a group of Naxals in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, police said on Tuesday.
Pawar tried to discourage party leader and state minister Dharmarao Baba Aatram's daughter Bhagyashri from crossing over to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP-SP.
There were no immediate reports of any casualties or major damage to properties.
An editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana said that the Gadchiroli massacre, after the November 26 Mumbai attacks, had once again shown total inefficiency and irresponsible attitude of the state home administration towards the law and order problems affecting both common people and security personnel.
Three policemen, including two personnel of Cobra battalion of Central Reserve Police Force were killed on Saturday in a naxal attack in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.
